Morgan's Resignation
by legaldramafan
Summary: Ficlet.  Hotch can't convince Morgan to stay in the BAU without Reid.  Morgan/Reid coupling.


**DISCLAIMER: I do not own, nor do I have any rights to, Criminal Minds and the characters contained therein.**

Morgan's Resignation

"Morgan, please reconsider," pleaded Hotch.

"Hotch this is the third time I've brought you my resignation. There is nothing to reconsider. There wasn't anything the first two times either. I simply cannot do this job without him."

"Morgan, you'll learn to do the job without Reid. It'll take time but it will happen."

"Maybe that's true, but I'm selfish and I don't want to, and not to sound childish, but you can't make me." Hotch sighed and rubbed his temples.

"If you retire now you won't get your full benefits."

"I don't care."

"You're upset right now. You're not being rational."

"Hotch, I never was the rational one remember? I'm the emotional hot head."

"Morgan-" Morgan put his hand up to silence Hotch and stood to leave.

"Hotch, I am 100% certain that I'm making the right decision. I'm sorry for the fact that now you need to find two new agents instead of one, I truly am, and I'm sorry if you feel blindsided by this. But nothing short of an executive order from the oval office is going to stop me, so please just process the damn papers." Morgan left without waiting for a reply and without giving Hotch an opportunity to shove the papers back into his own hands. His stride was brisk and confident. He'd already cleared out his personal belongings – and Reid's – and didn't stop to talk to anyone on his way to the parking garage.

"Babe, I'm home!" Morgan called as he opened the front door.

"And I'm exactly where you left me!" came the response from the living room. Morgan knelt beside the couch, kissing his lover and partner.

"Whatcha workin' on pretty boy?" Derek murmured, nuzzling Reid's neck.

"I've decided to write a book. Rossi does it, so it can't be that hard, right?" Morgan laughed.

"I think a book's a great idea. Although if you write even half as fast as you read, you're gonna be able to fill a library with your work by the time your back on your feet." Morgan looked down at his partner's legs, one casted, one splinted and heavily wrapped. "How are you feeling? Where's your pain at?"

"Solid seven, maybe an eight," Reid replied honestly.

"I'll be right back. I'm going to go get you a Vicodin. You only had one this morning and that was over eight hours ago."

"Okay," Reid sighed. This was the first time he'd taken narcotic painkillers since he'd kicked his drug habit. He knew that having both legs broken in multiple places with a crowbar was a very good reason to take a painkiller, but it still made him nervous. Derek trusted him, but he didn't trust himself, so Derek kept them locked up, dispensing them per the _medical_ doctor's instructions. He soon returned with one Vicodin and a full glass of water.

"We have an appointment with the orthopaedic surgeon tomorrow at 10:30, right?" he asked, handing Spencer the medication.

"Yes," he responded, gulping down the pill. "I see you don't have your resignation papers with you," he commented.

"I got out of there before Hotch could give them back again, although he tried." Spencer averted is gaze.

"Der, I know you say that you aren't resigning for me, but just because I'll probably never be able to be a field agent again, doesn't mean you should have to give it up too."

"Spencer, we've been over this. I'm doing this for myself, because I want to be with you. I don't know that I would've lasted as long as I did in the BAU without you. The FBI is just a job. YOU are my life. I want to be here with you for your surgeries, and physical therapy, and every doctor's appointment and when you re-learn how to walk. Besides, we've both witnessed the success rate of BAU relationships when only one half of the relationship is a part of the bureau. And think of how often I would see you if I stayed with them; it would be next to never. I couldn't live like that, I'm used to being with you every day, and I don't want that to change. I'm not doing it for you; I'm doing it for me, because I can't live without you." Derek leaned over and kissed Spencer passionately.

"Derek?"

"Hmm?"

"I know it's selfish of me, but I am ecstatic that you've retired from the FBI." Derek smiled as he brushed Spencer's hair out of his face, tucking it behind his ears.

"I am too," he said, leaning over for another kiss. "I almost forgot! I have an idea I wanted to run by you."

"Go ahead."

"Well I was thinking that this townhouse is alright, and when we first moved in together it made sense for you to just move in with me instead of us finding a new place, especially for the limited amounts of time we spent here. But the stairs are going to be a real bitch for you now, and even though this is _our_ place, only my name is on the deed, so I was thinking maybe we should look for a new place, one that we could buy together, with a ranch layout."

Reid was beaming. "You already found one, didn't you?"

Morgan chuckled. "Yeah, I put in a call to the realtor that sometimes helps me find places to flip."

"Have you seen it yet?"

"Just photos, but what I could see looked good. She said that we could call her tomorrow when we're leaving the doctor's office and she'll meet us at the house." Morgan stood and then carefully lifted Reid, carrying him to their bedroom.

"What are we doing?" Reid asked.

"C'mon, we both know that the Vicodin is going to kick in soon and it will make you sleep for an hour or two at least, so you might as well be comfortable."

"I could have been perfectly comfortable napping on the couch," replied Spencer as Morgan laid him on their bed.

"That's probably true. But with the way you're all wrapped up, it would have been hard for me to lay with you on the couch. Casts and copious amounts of bandages take up a lot of space," Morgan stated as he pulled off his boots and jeans, changing into a pair of sweats. "However, there is plenty of room for both of us here," he finished, sliding across the bed to his lover. Reid smiled.

"Have I told you yet today that I love you?" inquired Spencer.

"Probably, but it never hurts to hear it again," said Morgan smiling as Reid rolled his eyes.

"Derek, I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Good, because I love you too Spence, and want to spend the rest of my life with you. And now that we're out of the BAU you're life expectancy has probably doubled," said Morgan, combining sincerity with gentle teasing. Reid pretending to look put out and gave his partner a soft shove in the shoulder. Morgan positioned himself somewhat awkwardly to avoid hurting Reid before he leaned over and began kissing him. He wrapped his arms around his lover's neck, pulling him down, deepening the kiss. This continued until Reid's Vicodin kicked in and he could no longer keep his eyes open; then he fell asleep in Morgan's arms. Simple moments like this reinforced Morgan's belief that early retirement was the right choice. At peace with the decision, he relaxed and dozed off as well.


End file.
